Brendan Kennedy Petitions Kickstarter

By Aaron Hertzog, on May 24th, 2013

Brendan Kennedy has a dream. That dream includes getting drunk and making web videos in which he heckles people’s family photos while wearing a Batman mask. All dreams come at a cost; the price tag on Brendan’s reads “$10.00”. In order to help him achieve his goals of making Drunk Batman Heckles Your Family Photos a reality Brendan turned to Kickstarter, the online fundraising tool used by artists to raise money from people who support and believe in their projects. But Brendan was denied. The site that recently helped TV and movie-star Zach Braff raise over $3 million to produce a film told Brendan his project “…does not meet our guidelines.” Brendan once again is turning to the internet for help; creating a petition where he is asking supporters of his to tell Kickstarter to “stop acting like Drunk Batman Heckles Your Family Photos isn’t all that.” We contacted the former Philadelphia comedian by email to ask him about his current situation.

WitOut: Can you please take a moment to describe your vision for your project Drunk Batman Heckles Your Family Photos.

Brendan Kennedy: I’d like to make a webseries in which i get drunk and make fun of weird old family photos I find on google image search. When you’re trying to be a standup in LA, you’re just another face in a sea of almost good looking faces. So i’m gonna put a mask on and talk shit on people who I don’t know. I will make up backstories for these people and then claim they wronged me, or someone I know, who may or may not be real, depends upon the week.

WO: From my understanding after an initial proposal Kickstarter asked you to revise your campaign after which you were denied the opportunity to raise funds using their services. What were your thoughts on receiving news of your rejection? How have you handled it since?

BK: I thought it was predictable and disappointing. I revised my proposal per their suggestions (even though I was NOT in violation of their guidelines) and re-submitted. Then they just flat out rejected it, claiming that my project didn’t fit within their guidelines. Which would be fine if I was in violation of their guidelines, but I am NOT. They made a judgement call. Either my goal of raising 10 dollars to buy an adult batman mask seems too silly for their super serious website. (A website that people use to raise money to make board games and concept albums.) Or 10 dollars wasn’t enough money for them to waste their time, since after all, they take a percentage of the money raised. (Ya know, because they’re good people who want to help…)

WO: How do you feel about sites such as Kickstarter in terms of giving artists without an “in” to big-budget financiers an opportunity to raise funding to help make their dream projects become a reality?

BK: I think they are a money making scheme. Zach Braff is already famous, that’s why he’s able to raise almost 3 million dollars. They remind me of the commercials on tv where the old man asks you if you think you are good at drawing, and then for money he will send you a test to see if you really are good at drawing. The people themselves are the ones raising the money, it’s just an easier way to tell people about the project that you are trying to raise money for than making your own blog and paypal set up. I thought that maybe, even though they take some of the money you raise, they were still a good company that just needs money to operate. Now I just think that they are just a company that wants money.

WO: What are your thoughts on the recent wave of more high-profile celebrities and projects (Zach Braff, Veronica Mars) using Kickstarter as a way to raise funds from their fans to create projects? (To play Devil’s Advocate some would argue this lets fans feel like “a part” of the production – and that paying to see a movie in the theaters is even similar to donating to the cause – just after the fact…)

BK: It’s a publicity stunt. Which is why I wanted to use it! I figured that whoever gave me the 10 bucks to buy the mask would watch at least the first episode. Donating to help fund a movie is similar to buying a ticket, except that after you donate to help have the movie made, you still have to pay to go see it. I just checked, you have to pay 30 dollars to get to see Zach Braff’s movie without paying any more money. Also, letting people feel like they are part of something in exchange for their money has been part of many great scams in the past. For example, the whole buy a star and name it craze.

WO: Usually Kickstarter campaigns give some benefits or rewards to donators; if your project does eventually get approved what can those who give to your project expect to receive as tokens of your appreciation?

BK: I had it set up so that for 5 bucks, I’d let you pick a photo that i’d make fun of in one episode. And for 25 dollars i’d mail you an autographed photo of drunk batman. Despite the fact that I only wanted 10 dollars, kickstarter suggested 25 as a good starting point for rewards. (because they just want people’s money!!)

WO: How far do you think Drunk Batman Heckles Your Family Photos can go if just given the chance?

BK: I’m not gonna bullshit people and claim that this kickstarter will change the way webseries are made, because that would be stupid. Also, it’s stupid to claim that people donating money to get a movie made will change the way movies are made!! So i’ll just be honest, if given a chance, Drunk Batman Heckles Your Family Photos can go all the way to YouTube! Or maybe Funny or Die, I haven’t decided yet.

WO: Finally, let our readers know why they should sign the petition so Kickstarter will let you raise money on their site. And also why they should donate if you finally do get approved.

BK: Cause fuck Kickstarter. This site is bullshit, and people need to know it. They found a way to profit off of fundraising. It’s like if you wanted to buy a hot dog at a baseball game, and you handed your money down the aisle and a guy in the middle demanded one of your dollars, or he passed all of your money to the hot dog guy, but then took a bite of the hot dog that was passed to you. Kickstarter is just a crummy middle man who only goes to baseball games to steal bites of other people’s hot dogs. But now they’ve tasted some big celebrity hot dogs, and no regular person hot dog is going to satisfy them anymore. Donate if you want to see me drunkenly making fun of weird family photos in a shitty batman mask. Probably I’ll just use one of their competitors sites that don’t take any of your money. But in the mean time, sign the petition so Kickstarter gets an email from change.org just to let them know they’re assholes.